Book Reviews

I’m Not: Funny Friendship

| Tasha

imnot

I’m Not by Pam Smallcomb, illustrated by Robert Weinstock

Evelyn is everything that the narrator is not.  Evelyn is not ordinary.  She is fast, jumping, fashionable, artistic, and imaginative.  Our narrator is not.  But when Evelyn slows down, our quiet narrator discovers that there are things that she herself is good at and Evelyn is not.  Evelyn cannot spell well; she can’t do karate; she’s scared of the dark.  And what Evelyn needs most is a best friend.  Now that is something that our narrator definitely IS.

Smallcomb has captured the tension of friendship between an outgoing person and a quieter person.  I appreciated that Evelyn is not a pushy person or a bully.  Rather she is loud, gregarious and fun.  Our narrator could be read as shy or as quiet, which many children will relate to.  Smallcomb writes with a clever voice, allowing readers to really experience Evelyn with the wonder and thrill that our narrator feels.  Readers will happily take away the lesson that we all have something to offer, whether we are in the spotlight or not.

Weinstock’s illustrations add to the humor of the book.  His style is similar to the beloved James Marshall of George and Martha fame.  Thanks to the illustrations and writing style, this book has a timeless feel that will welcome young readers.

Highly recommended, this is a perfect addition to friendship units or story times.  It will read aloud well and young readers will connect with the characters easily.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Schwartz & Wade Books.

Also reviewed by:

Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party

| Tasha

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Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party by Melanie Watt

The fifth in the very popular Scaredy Squirrel series has Scaredy planning his own birthday party.  He wants it to be quiet and private, because that’s how he can avoid any surprises.  Surprises like Bigfoot, confetti and ponies must be avoided!  He carefully plans his solo party with lists and charts, but even then he is surprised by what he finds in his mailbox.  It’s a birthday card from Buddy.  So Scaredy decides that he will invite just one guest in addition to himself.  Now he has to rethink the entire party!  There has to be a schedule, topics for small talk, and a list of dos and don’ts.  But even with all of his planning and worrying, Scaredy is sure to be surprised at his birthday party!

This is a great addition to the series.  I love how Watt takes events that can have children worried and allows Scaredy to worry for them.  And Scaredy is so much better at worrying, that he’s sure to show how silly all that worry really is.  Heck, some parents could take a lesson from Scaredy about birthday parties that are more about structure and less about fun. 

Make your own plan to read this book!  But don’t worry, you are sure to love it.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Kids Can Press.

Cryer’s Cross: Thrilling Fun

| Tasha

cryerscross

Cryer’s Cross by Lisa McMann

The tiny community of Cryer’s Cross has been witness to a tragedy when Tiffany disappears without a trace.  Because the town is so small, 16-year-old Kendall knew Tiffany though she was several years younger.  Returning to their one-room high school, Kendall needs to tidy the desks and room before a new school year begins thanks to her OCD.  Kendall returns to her areas of comfort, playing soccer, dreaming about leaving Cryer’s Cross for Juilliard, and her boyfriend Nico.  When Nico begins acting strange and then disappears, the community enforces a curfew.   After Nico disappears and soccer is cancelled, Kendall’s OCD becomes much worse.  She only finds relief when playing soccer with Jacian, a new boy in school who manages to both bother and intrigue Kendall.  When Kendall starts hearing Nico’s voice when she sits at his desk and receiving messages through the graffiti scratched into its surface, she is drawn into the horror that lives in her small town.

This thriller has great teen appeal.  It is creepy, frightening, but not fully horror.  Just right for teens who want a little scare but not too much.  The romance is nicely built in the book as well.  I liked that it was not instantaneous but rather built as they got to know one another better. 

The pacing is well done, drawing out the scary moments and allowing the story time to build.  I found it nearly impossible to put down, my mind kept working on unraveling the mystery even when I was not reading.   The conclusion was exciting, frightening and great fun to read.  It was also nicely foreshadowed in the book, making it very satisfying.

A thrilling, fun read that is sure to appeal to McMann’s fans.  The cover is eye-catching and will welcome additional readers too.  Get this in the hands of teens who want a jolt of terror in their reads.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon Pulse.

Also reviewed extensively throughout the blogosphere.

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No Passengers Beyond This Point: A Wild Ride

| Tasha

nopassengers

No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko

When three siblings discover that their mother has lost their house to foreclosure, they have only a few days to pack up and get ready to move to live with an Uncle they barely know.  To get to his home, they have to take a plane to Colorado.  But that is where everything starts to get odd.  India, Finn and Mouse find themselves getting off the plane and entering a world that makes little sense.  No one has heard of Uncle Red, they are met by a pink taxi with feathers, and each of them seems to have their very own house to live in that was designed just for them.  As they struggle to figure out where they are, the clock starts ticking and the book becomes a race against time in a world that none of them understands.

Choldenko has switched genres here, away from the historical world of Al Capone Does My Shirts and into a magical alternate reality.  However, she continues to write compelling characters living ordinary yet extraordinary lives.  Though the book often has readers trying to figure out the rules of the alternate world, Choldenko’s characters never leave one in doubt.  They are well drawn, their reactions make sense, and their motivations are consistent.

The crispness of her writing continues as well.  I found myself immediately drawn into the relationship of these three siblings, which is beautifully complex.  Each of them has their own point of view and the chapters rotate between them.  The deeper disputes and issues between them are explained throughout the book, often becoming pivotal in the book’s resolution.

Choldenko’s pacing is also well done.  She gives readers a chance to get to know the three main characters at their home first, before they are drawn into the alternate world.  There the pace slows and then races, driven deftly by the writing.  At moments where the children are lingering, the book slows too.  Then when the story begins to fly, the pace matches that as well.

I can see this book being one that readers will either love or hate.  One has to be willing to follow a beloved author down a new path and take a wild ride of a journey with her.   I was happy to take this trip.  Get this in the hands of fans of The Kneebone Boy.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Dial Books.

Also reviewed by

Bermudaonion’s Weblog

Book Sake

Charlotte’s Library

Killin’ Time Reading

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My Brain on Books

 

Giant Steps to Change the World

| Tasha

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Giant Steps to Change the World by Spike Lee & Tonya Lewis Lee, illustrated by Sean Qualls

This is a book filled with inspiring people that show children that everyone has the ability to be a hero.  The book contains examples of people who stood up for others, worked with a passion and vision, honored deep values, and led the world to a new place.  Among the heroes on the pages are Langston Hughes, Harriet Tubman, Mother Teresa, and Neil Armstrong.  It is a great mix of male and female and different races.  The heroes will inspire young readers to take that first step to follow in the giant steps that their heroes left behind.

Qualls’ illustrations are amazing.  Done in acrylic, gouache, pencil and collage, the images are bold and strong.  Some are so powerful, they stay with you after closing the book, like the black and white image that represents Harriet Tubman and moves from dark to light.  The illustrations have clear lines, deep colors, and convey the essence of that hero to great effect.

Unfortunately, the text written by the Lees is less successful.  The heroes they have selected are an incredible group of people.  It is the words themselves that fall flat, often being too verbose and roundabout for a children’s picture book.  I was also disappointed that there was not a list of the heroes anywhere in the book with more information.  Readers can look at the endpages of the book to see a quote from each hero, but no further details are given.  That’s just not enough information for young readers.

An inspiring book despite some issues, this book would pair well with President Obama’s Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters.  Appropriate for ages 7-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

Ribbit Rabbit: Great Rhyming Fun

| Tasha

ribbitrabbit

Ribbit Rabbit by Candace Ryan, illustrated by Mike Lowery

Frog and Bunny are the best of friend.  They swim together.  Fight monsters together.  Even share peanut butter sandwiches.  But sometimes something happens and they stop getting along.  Like when they find a robot with a key.  One of them ends up with the robot, the other with the key.  And they don’t want to share.  After a bit of alone time though, they come together ready to share and have fun once again.

Ryan’s text is such fun to read aloud.  It trips, gallops, dashes and dances on the tongue.  The rhythm of the book is a delight and the silly rhymes add joy to the book.  It is impossible to read it without grinning. 

Lowery’s illustrations have a wonderful modern, fresh feel to them.  Done in pencil, screen printing and print gocco, they are finished digitally.  They have a simplicity that works well here.  The soft colors have an intriguing pop to them and the texture from the screen printing adds to the appeal.

Highly recommended, this is a top choice for toddler and preschool story times.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from ARC received from Bloomsbury.

Also reviewed by The Bookbag and Young Readers.

Little White Rabbit: Masterful Simplicity

| Tasha

littlewhiterabbit

Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes

Little White Rabbit set off filled with imagination.  As he hopped through the grass, he wondered what it would be like to be green.  When he went by the fir trees, he wondered what being tall was like.  When he hopped over the rock, he wondered about how it would feel not to be able to move.  When he saw the butterflies, he imagined being able to fly.  But when he saw the cat, he got too scared to imagine anymore.  He hurried back to his family and didn’t stop wondering and imagining.

Henkes is a master of the picture book format.  The simple words here carry the story beautifully, giving just enough detail to keep the book moving.  The focus on wondering and imagining is one that will have young minds wondering along with the book, exactly what I love to see in any picture book. 

The illustrations, done in colored pencil and acrylic paint, are also simple.  They are nice and large, which will work well with a group of preschoolers.  The simplicity speaks to the skill of Henkes as an illustrator.   The double-page spreads of the imaginings of Little White Rabbit offer lots of exploration, moments of quiet, and space for young children to have their own daydreams too.

Simplicity by a master of the genre, this book will be adored by Henkes’ many fans and will find new fans too.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Brimful Curiosities.

Check out the video about the making of this book:

Tell Me the Day Backwards: A Bedtime Charmer

| Tasha

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Tell Me the Day Backwards by Albert Lamb, illustrated by David McPhail

Released March 22, 2011

Timmy Bear and Mama play a game before he goes to sleep.  They tell each other their day backwards.  The story they tell one another is filled with special moments together like watching the sunset and having a picnic.  Then there are moments of fear, and told backwards they make it even more of an event.  The story builds nicely as readers discover exactly what led to Timmy Bear jumping from a high rock into the river.  The story ends as it began, with Timmy Bear in bed and Mama at his side, creating a beautiful circle of a story. 

Lamb’s writing here has such a gentle feel, it is perfect for a bedtime story.  The adventure portion in the middle keeps this from being too soft and gentle, adding a great story arc to the book that is sure to have young readers listening intently.  The exchanges between Mama and Timmy in the book have a touch of humor and a great deal of love. 

McPhail’s art captures the story with his usual style.  His illustrations are soft watercolors that work for both the active portions of the book and the slower parts.  He manages to capture so much emotion, action and movement in only a few lines.  The illustrations are simple and lovely.

This book belongs in every library and will make a wonderful gift book for toddlers who just may have similar adventures in a given day.  After reading the book it is impossible not to want to tell your day backwards, so if sharing with a group, you may have to have an activity of writing or drawing their day backwards.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from ARC received from Candlewick.

Camo Girl: Shining Strong

| Tasha

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Camo Girl by Kekla Magoon

The author of The Rock and the River returns with another amazing book.  Ella is not part of the popular crowd at school.  In fact, she is the lowest of the low.  Teased by about her uneven skin coloring, some of her classmates call her Camo Face, Ella has trouble even looking at herself in the mirror.  She has her best friend, Z, who has been her friend for many years, but Z is getting stranger and stranger, losing himself in stories and roles.  Now there is a new boy at school, a boy who doesn’t seem to notice Ella’s skin at all.  He brings her a way into the popular world, but how can she leave Z to fend for himself?  This novel speaks to issues of race, bullying, friendship and differences, never shying away from asking very difficult questions.

Magoon’s writing here is superb.  Her writing is at times filled with such longing and ache that it enters your bones.  Other times it soars, lifting readers along with it, demonstrating that anything is possible.  She illuminates the darkness of bullying, but this book is about so much more than that.  It is about the tenderness of long friendship.  It is about the hope of the new.  It is about the beauty of difference.  It is about the strength of self.

Ella is a great character who is gripped with such self-doubt that it is almost despair.  Yet she continues on, watching out for Z, caring for her family, and even hoping that the new boy’s smile might be just for her.  Beautifully, her transformation in the book is less about her changing and more about her perceptions changing about herself and those around her.  It is a powerful and important distinction.

Highly recommended, this is an amazing book for tweens looking for a book that has depth, power and strength.  Appropriate for ages 9-13.

Reviewed from copy received from Aladdin.

Also reviewed by TheHappyNappyBookseller and My Life in…

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